Find a TenderAwardedContract details notice

Published 11 Dec 2025, 12:20 GMT

Official UK procurement notice

ID 5828520 DfE - FE BMC - IT Security Services

Official notice

Authority: Belfast Metropolitan College (BMC) (Central government)·On behalf of: CPD

ServicesOpen procedureAbove thresholdSME suitable

Sectors: IT Services & Software (72) Delivery: Northern Ireland (UKN)

Published estimate£500,000≈ £167k / year · £600,000 inc. VAT

Submissions closed 19 Jan 2026awarded 31 Mar 2026

Awarded to VM Forensics Limited

Contract term 3 yrsends 31 Jan 2029 · up to 31 Jan 2031 with extensions · starts 1 Feb 2026

What is being bought

Published requirement description

Belfast Metropolitan College provides Further and Higher Education and vocational

training to a student population in excess of 30,000 students. The College employs

approximately 1000 plus staff comprising approximately 300 full-time teaching staff and

200 part-time teaching staff supported by approximately 500 non-teaching support staff.

BMC's annual turnover is in excess of £55m. The current contract for an IT Security

Partner is due to expire, and the college is acutely aware of the danger of cyber-attacks

across the globe and requires the appointment of a security partner to fill the IT Security

Partner role. The other NI-based FE colleges (Northern Regional College, Southern

Regional College, South-Eastern Regional College, North-Western Regional College,

South-Western Regional College) have also expressed interest in availing of the services

of the IT Security partner. Suppliers should refer to the Specification Schedule for full

detail on the deliverables of this contract.

The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Jun 2030, 23:59 BST.

CPV: Computer audit and testing services · Computer audit services · Computer testing services · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Software programming and consultancy services · Software-related services · System and support services · Systems analysis and programming services · Systems and technical consultancy services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published

Lot #1AwardedRenewal 3 yrsPublished value£500,000

Contract period: 1 Feb 2026 – 31 Jan 2029 (3 yrs) · up to 31 Jan 2031 with extensionsValue: £500,000 exc. VAT · £600,000 inc. VAT

Delivery: Northern Ireland

Extensions: Following the initial contract period, there are two optional extension periods of up to 12 months each. Optional extension periods will be subject to review and satisfactory performance assessment by the Contracting Authority.

72000000 IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support 72200000 Software programming and consultancy services 72220000 Systems and technical consultancy services 72240000 Systems analysis and programming services 72250000 System and support services 72260000 Software-related services

What it takes to win
i
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more

How bids were scored

Quality: 40%Price: 50%Social value: 10%

Published sub-criteria (6)

AC1 Proposed Security Partner Experience: 18%
AC2 Security Analysis and Improvement: 10%
AC3 Incident Response: 6%
AC4 Business Continuity: 6%
AC6 Total Contract Price: 50%
AC5 Social Value: 10%

Published award criteria (6)

AC1 Proposed Security Partner Experience
AC2 Security Analysis and Improvement
AC3 Incident Response
AC4 Business Continuity
AC5 Social Value
AC6 Total Contract Price

What this means for your bid

Price carries 50 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 5 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.

Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record

Procedure method: Open procedure
Legal basis: UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
Procurement category: Services
Notice status: Awarded
Procurement threshold: Above threshold (FTS publication)
Regulatory regime: Standard
Commercial structure: Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type: Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered: Yes (GPA)
Recurring procurement: Yes · next expected 1 Jun 2030
First published: 11 Dec 2025, 12:20 GMT
Last source update: 16 Apr 2026, 16:42 BST
Award evaluation window: Submission end – 30 Jan 2026
Authority reference: ID 5828520
FTS notice number: 2025/S 000-081931
Latest notice: Contract details notice (UK7)
Classification (CPV): Computer audit and testing servicesComputer audit servicesComputer testing servicesIT services: consulting, software development, Internet and supportSoftware programming and consultancy servicesSoftware-related servicesSystem and support servicesSystems analysis and programming servicesSystems and technical consultancy services
Delivery area: Northern Ireland (UKN)
Official registry OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05f3b0 Find a Tender

How it was run

Official notice

Run through: eTendersNI · Who buys & how to bid on eTendersNI

Supplier login requiredElectronic submission allowedLanguage: EN

Access & registration note: Free Northern Ireland registration

Submission deadline: 19 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
Clarification deadline: 9 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
Submission channel: Official e-sourcing portal
Electronic submission: Allowed
Accepted languages: en

Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Tenders must be submitted electronically via the relevant Call for Tender (CfT) opportunity on eTendersNI, website details immediately below.

Paper submissions will not be accepted or considered and will be rejected by the Contracting Authority / Buyer.

The tender documents are available with unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at: URL etendersni.gov.uk/epps ↗

Timeline

11 Dec 2025 → 16 Apr 2026 · 8 dates

Tender notice published314 days ago
11 Dec 2025, 12:20 GMT
Clarification questions by285 days ago
9 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
Submission deadline275 days ago
19 Jan 2026, 15:00 GMT
Award decision expected by263 days ago
30 Jan 2026, 23:59 GMT
Contract starts262 days ago
1 Feb 2026
Assessment summaries sent204 days ago
31 Mar 2026, 00:00 BST
Standstill ends190 days ago
13 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
Latest notice published188 days ago
16 Apr 2026, 16:42 BST

Notice history

5 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 11 Dec 2025

Tender notice published
11 Dec 2025, 12:20 GMT
UK4
Contract award notice published
31 Mar 2026, 13:58 BST
UK6
Status changed to complete
31 Mar 2026, 13:58 BST
Contract signature expected
14 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
scheduled
Contract details notice published
16 Apr 2026, 16:42 BST
UK7

Commercial outcome & contract awards

Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast

Awards 1

Awarded value £500,0001 award exc. VAT

Bids received 33 from SMEs

Contracts signed 1latest 15 Apr 2026

Awarded to	Value	Date	Status
VM Forensics LimitedSMEVCSE15 Apr 2026 – 14 Apr 2029 · up to 14 Apr 2031Extensions: There are two optional extensions of up to 12 months each.	£500,000	31 Mar 2026	Awarded

Contracts

ID 5828520 DfE - FE BMC - IT Security services · VM Forensics LimitedSMEVCSE
Signed
15 Apr 2026
Value
£500,000
Period
16 Apr 2026 – 15 Apr 2029 · up to 15 Apr 2031 with extensions
Status
active
Extensions
There are two optional extension periods of up to 12 months on each occasion.
No agreed KPIs: This contract value is below the threshold for setting key performance indicators.

Bid statistics published by the authority

Bids	SME	VCSE	Valid bid range
3final-stage tenders · 5 at stage one	3	3	—

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

8 public bodies on the notice

Belfast Metropolitan College

Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations apply GB-PPON: PPTX-8572-NYCV 7 Queens Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT3 9DTContact email

Consortium members and other public bodies

CPDBeneficiary authority
CPD - Supplies and Services DivisionProcess contact pointProcuring entityConstruction and Procurement Delivery - Supplies and Services Division, is a Centre of Procurement Expertise and provides a central procurement function for central government in Northern IrelandGB-PPON: PVWG-8426-YWXV Belfast, Northern IrelandContact email
Northern Regional CollegeContracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations applyGB-PPON: PCDC-7356-WJNZ Ballymena, Northern IrelandContact email
Northwest Regional College (NWRC)Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations applyGB-PPON: PRHT-9325-BBHZ Derry, Northern IrelandContact email
Southeastern Regional College (SERC)Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations applyGB-PPON: PYHR-1413-WQYX Lisburn, Northern IrelandContact email
Southern Regional CollegeContracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations applyGB-PPON: PBTJ-5492-VBGW Armagh, Northern IrelandContact email
Southwest College (SWC)Contracting authorityPublic authority - central governmentNorthern Irish devolved regulations applyGB-PPON: PJNR-3745-PPBV Cookstown, Northern IrelandContact email

Bidders & participating suppliers

1 commercial party on the notice

VM Forensics LimitedAwarded supplierGB-PPON: PHYG-9937-VJCH Flurry Bridge Business Park, Lower Foughill Road, Newry, Northern Ireland, BT35 8SQContact email

Official documents & specifications (3)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Notices published for this procedure

Contract details notice contractContract details noticeUK7Contract details notice on Find a Tender16 Apr 2026, 16:42 BST
Contract award notice awardContract award noticeUK6Contract award notice on Find a Tender31 Mar 2026, 13:58 BST
Tender notice tenderTender noticeUK4Tender notice on Find a Tender11 Dec 2025, 12:20 GMT